Machine for making fire-escape ladders



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. M. SHIRES 8a J. Q. A. KENNEDY. MACHINE FORMAKING FIRE ESCAPE LADDEES.

Patented Ma wlfgzsses M (No Model.) 2 Sheets- Sheet 2.

M. SHIRES 8v J. Q. AQKENNEDY. MACHINE PoR MAKING PIRE ESCAPE LADDERS.

No. 604,797. Patented May 31,1898.

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Unirse Status Earns@ MICHAEL SIIIRES, OF SPRING MILLS, AND JOIIN Q. A.KENNEDY, OF JOHNS- TOIVN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO TIIE J OIINSTOIV NFIRE ESCAPE COMPANY, LIMITED, OF tIOIINSTOVN, PENNSYLVANIA.

MACHINE FUE MAKEN@ FIRE-ESCAPE LADDEES.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 604,797, dated. Eday31, 1898, Application filed August 4, 1897. Serial No. 647,099. (Nomodel.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern: spool-frame carries a series of spools,(indi- Be it known that we, MICHAEL SHIRES, recated by 8.) As shown inthe drawings, sidingatSpringMills, inthe countyof Centre, twelve ofthese spools are used, although the and JOI-IN Q.. A. KENNEDY, residingat Johnsnumber may be more orless, as desired. Each town, in the countyof Cambria, State of Pennframe carries at its frontend a guide 9, which55 sylvania, citizens of the United States, have is provided withupperand lower series of perinvented a new and useful MachineforManuforations, (indicated by 10.) There are six facturing Fire-EscapeLadders, of which the perforations in each series, and the wires fromfollowing is a specication. one-half the spools pass through the lowerse- Io This invention relates to certain improveries of perforations,while the wires from the 6o ments in machines for manufacturingiireother spools lead through the upper series of escape ladders, thenature and objects of perforations. which will be fully set forth in thefollowing l1 indicates tubes which are rigidly conspeciication and thenovel features thereof nected to the front ends of the respective beparticularly pointed out in the sub joined spool-frames, and these tubesare supported 65 claims. at their front ends ilnsuitable bearings l2 onIn the drawings, Figure l is a side elevathe cross-bar et. Each of thesetubes is protion of a machine made in accordance with vided with asprocket-wheel 18, which is rigour invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view.Fig. 3 idly connected to it, and immediately below 2o is a front endview. Fig. 4: is a vertical lonthe sprocket-wheel, on the middle tube,au- 7o gitudinal section through that part of the maother sprocket-wheel14. is suitably journaled chine in advance of the spool-carriers. Fig.on the frame, and this sprocket-wheel I4. runs 5 is a verticaltransverse section on the line as an idler.

Q0 5c of Eig. 2, looking toward the front of the 15 indicates asprocket-chain which runs z5 machine. Figs. G, 7, and 8 are respectivelyunder the idle sprocket-wheel la and also un- 75 side, end, andsectional views of the devices der the sprocket-wheel on the middle tubeand to spread the wires for the insertion of the over thesprocket-wheels on the two outer rungs, detached. Fig. D is a detacheddetail. tubes. By this arrangement of gearing the view of the bar tomove the disks which carry7 outer tubes are revolved in one directionand 3o the spreading-jaws. Fig. l0 is asectional dethe middle tube inthe reverse direction, and 8o i tail of the tripping device operated bythe the object of this arrangement is to twist the rungs. Fig. 1l is anenlarged view of the tenmiddle wire cable in the opposite direction tosion device for the spools. Fig. l2 is au elethe twist in the twooutside cables for the vation of the guide at the front end of thepurpose of preventing the ladder from twistspool-frame. ing whensuspended from a window. One of 85 Similarreference-numeralsindicatesimilarl the outer tubes is provided with a beveled parts in the severalfigures. pinion 17, which meshes with a beveled gear The frame of themachine is of rectangular 1S on a shaft ll), which is supported insuitoblong form and consists of the upper horiable bearings 2O on one ofthe side rails l and 4o Zontal rails l, which are connected by the ashort bar 2l, rigidly connected to the ends 9o cross-bars 2, 3, and 4,and the rails and bars of the cross-bars 3 and al. The shaft 19 also aresupported by the vertical standards 5, carries at its outer end ahand-wheel 22, .and which are suitably braced in any approved it isobvious that by turning the hand-wheel manner. 22 the severalspool-frames will be revolved 6 indicates the spoolframes, which arethrough the medium of the beveled gearing 95 journaled in suitablebearings 7 on the crossand the sprocket-wheels andthe chain before bars2 and The spool-f rames are arranged described. side by side andparallel to each other in such Each of the tubes ll carries at itsforward manner that each is free to revolve without end a cone 23, andeach of these cones is procoming in contact with the others, and eachvided with oppositely-arranged recesses 2l, roo

extending longitudinally into the cone and parallel with its outer face,the object of which recesses will be referred to hereinafter. Each tube11 also supports a tube 25, which is free to have longitudinal movementtherein, and the tube 11 is provided with a slot 26, and the tube 25 isprovided with a key 27, which fits in the slot 26, and the two tubes 11and 25 are thereby caused to have a common rotary movement at the sametime the tube 25 is free to have limited longitudinal movement in thetube 11. Each of these tubes 25 carries a disk 28 at its outer end, andthese disks are each provided with an annular groove 29.

30 indicates a bar which is provided with three semicircular recesses3l, and these recessed portions t into the annular grooves 29 in thedisks 28. The bar 30 is supported on the under side of the disk by meansof blocks 32, which are connected to the bar 30 and are provided withsemicircular recesses at their ends to partially embrace the disks 28 ontheir upper sides in such manner that the disks are left free torevolve.

34 indicates a latch-lever which is pivoted at its lower end on aquadrant 35, and the latter is supported in any suitable manner on theframe of the machine.

36 indicates a rod which is journaled in suitable bearings 3GfL on twoof the vertical standards 5, and this rod is provided with two integralarms 37, which are connected by rods 38 to the bar 30. The rod 36 isalso provided with an arm 39, which is connected by a rod 40 to thelever 34. It is obvious, therefore, that by rocking the lever 34 thedisks 28 will be caused to move toward or away from the cones 23 on thetubes 11.

41 indicates wire-holding jaws which are provided with arms 42, pivotedat 43 in suitable recesses 44, formed in the disks 28. The rear ends ofthe arms 42 are bifnrcated, and one prong 45 is straight, while theother prong 46 is curved at its outer end. The prongs 4G project intothe recesses 24 in the cones 23, while the prongs 45 are adapted to workon the outer face of the cone, and by this construction when the disks28 are moved toward the cones 23 the two wire holders or jaws 4l will beforced apart for a purpose to be hereinafter referred to. Each of theseholders or jaws 41 is provided with a semicircular series ofperforations, (indicated by 47,) and there are six of these perforationsin each series. The wires from the spools, after passing through theperforations in the guides 9, pass through the tubes 25 and then throughthe perforations in the jaws 41, each jaw carrying six wires.

48 indicates the drum on which the completed ladder is wound, and theshaft 49 of the drum is journaled in suitable bearings in the arms 50,which extend horizontally from the front end of the main frame of themachine. The drum is provided with spaced flanges 51. The shaft 49carries at each end a ratchetwheel 52, said wheels being fast on theshaft, and on each side of these disks arms are loosely mounted at oneend on the shaft and extend downward in a vertical direction. The innerarms are indicated by 53 and the outer arms by 54, and between thesearms, at their lower ends, are pivoted the pawls 55, each pawl having anarm 56, which extends downwardly, and a spring 57 is secured between thelower ends of these arms and tends normally to hold the pawls inengagement with the teeth of the ratchet-wheels. Each of the inner arms53 carries a head 58, which is adapted to slide vertically on its arm,for a purpose to be hereinafter referred to.

59 indicates a shaft which is journaled in suitable bearings on theframe of the machine and extends transversely across it in substantiallyvertical alinement with the shaft 19. A sprocket-wheel 60 is secured onthe shaft 59 at one end in alinement with a similar sprocket-wheel 61 onthe shaft 19, and these two sprocket-wheels are connected by a chain 63.The shaft 59 also carries at each end a crank-disk G4, and thesecrank-disks are connected to the respective sliding heads 58 by rods 65.When the shaft 19 is rotated, the shaft 59 will also be rotated and theconnection between the crank-disks 6 4 and the sliding heads 58 willcause the arms 53 and 54 to reciprocate and thereby impart rotarymovement to the ratchet-wheels 52 and the drum 48.

66 indicates dogs pivoted to the frame of the machine and engaging theteeth of the ratchet-wheels 52 to prevent backward movement of the drum.

There is a clutch connection between the shaft 19 and the hand-wheel 22,and one member G7 of this clutch is fast on the shaft 19. The othermember 68 is slidably supported on a sleeve 69, which projects from thehand- IOO wheel and through which sleeve the shaft 19 y extends. Theclutch member 68 is so connected to the sleeve 69 that they will havecomlnon rotation, but the clutch member will have alimited movement onthe sleeve longitudinally.

70 indicates a strap-lever which is pivoted intermediate its ends to thecross-bar 4, as indicated at 71. One end of this strap-lever isconnected to the movable member G8, and the free end of the lever isengaged by a spring 72, which is secured to the frame of the machine andtends normally to hold the clutch members disengaged.

73 indicates a lever which is pivoted intermediate its ends on the siderail 1 and is provided with a recess 7 4 in its outer end,which engageswith a lug 75 on the lever 70, and when the lug is engaged in the recess74 the clutch members will be locked together. A weighted rope 74 isconnected to the inner end of the lever and runs over a guide-pulley 75,suitably mounted on the frame at any convenient point to hold the levers70 and 73 in engagement.

7 G indicates a roller extending transversely IIO of the machine-frameand suitably journaled therein, and over this roller the completedladder is drawn on its way to be wound on the drum 48. An arm 77 (seeFig. 10) is pivotally connected at one end to the inner end of the lever73 and is provided at its free end with a hook 78, which is immediatelyabove the roller 76.

79 indicates an arm which is pivoted at one end to a fixed' part of themachine and is provided at its free end with a roller 80,which normallyengages the roller 76. The two arms 77 and 79 are connected by a bar 8l.The roller 80 is somewhat in advance of the hook 78, and when thisroller is in engagement with the roller 7 6 the hook will be held out ofcontact with the roller 76 and cannot therefore injure it.

As the completed ladder is wound on the drum the rungs of the ladderwill successively engage the hook 78, and when a rung engages the hook78 the arm 77 will be drawn slightly forward and rock the lever 73 onits pivot sufficiently to disengage the lug from the recess 74, when thespring 72 will operate the lever 70 and disengage the clutch members andthereby stop the machine. As soon, however, as the rung engages theroller 80 it will lift the hook 78 out of engagement with the rung andpermit the latter to pass onward to the drum when the machine is againstarted.

As the completed ladder is Wound upon the drum 48 it will becomenecessary to Vary the speed at which the drum is rotated, and in orderto accomplish this we provide bars 82, which are secured to brackets 83,the vertical members 84 of which brackets are supported in guides 85,secured to the frame of the machine in such manner that the brackets andbars 82 may have a sliding vertical movement. To the rear end of each ofthese bars 82 a rope 8G is connected, and this rope passes over suitableguide-pulleys 87, mounted on the` frame of the machine, and is providedat its free end with a weight 88. The tendency of these weighted ropesis to hold the bars 82 in engagement with the drum or with the outerlayer of the ladder as it is wound upon the drum. From each of the heads58 an arm 89 extends inwardly toward the fianges 5l of the drum.

90 indicates U-shaped bars which straddle the flanges of the drum andare secured at one end to the inner end of the respective arms 89. Theother ends of these U-shaped bars are bifurcated and support rollers 91,which engage the lower faces of the bars 82. Pulleys 92 are journaled insuitable bearings secured on the lower faces of the arms 89, and ropes93 run under these pulleys and are connected at one end to arms 94,projecting from the frame of the machine. The other ends of these ropes,after passing over guide-pulleys 95, are provided with weights 9G. Asthe completed ladder is wound upon the drum the bars 82 will begradually forced downwardly and will carry with them the heads 58, and

spools, and a bolt 99 connects the bars midway their length, and thepressure of the bars upon the collars is regulated by the thumb* screws100, which work on the bolt and engage the respective bars.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The wires from the severalspools, after passing through the guides 9, extend through the tube 25,and thence pass through the wireholding jaws 4l, six wires beingsupported by each jaw. After the ends of the wires have been twistedsufficiently to secure them firmly together the lever 34 is operated tocause the jaws 41 to spread apart, which will result in opening thewires sufiiciently to permit the insertion of a rung between them. Thelever 34 is then retracted and the hand-wheel turned, which lattercauses the spool-fram es,the tubes, and the jaws to have uniform rotarymovement, and thereby twist the wires which form the cables. At the sametime the drum will be rotated and that portion of the ladder which isalready completed will be wound thereon until a rung engages the hook 78on the arm 77, when the lever 70 will be released and disengage theclutch members, thereby stopping the rotation of the spool-frames andalso of the drum. The lever 34 Will then be again operated to open thejaws 4l for the reception of another rung, and the operation will thencontinue as before.

While the machine contemplated by this invention has been described asespecially adapted for use in manufacturing fire-escape ladders, stillit will be understood that the machine can be utilized for manufacturingsimilar woven stiucturesmsuch, for instance, as picket fencing-withoutany change whatever in the construction or operation of the machine. Inthis connection it will be obvia ous that the twisted wire cables formedby the machine could well be the wire cables of a fence, while ordinaryfence pickets or panels could be substituted for the ladder-rungs whichare used during the process of weavin g a line of fire-escape ladder.The operation in either case would be identical, so we desire it to beunderstood that although the machine is especially designed formanufacturing tireescape ladders yet the same can be utilized for wiringwood fencing and manufacturing other analogous woven structures. A

In using the machine for manufacturing fire-escape ladders or otheranalogous structures it may be necessary to modify or rearrange someparts thereof; but we reserve the IOO IOS

IIO

right to make any changes or modifications in the machine, such as maybe necessary to adapt the same for any particular work,with outdeparting from the spirit or sacriticing any of the advantages of thisinvention.

I-Iaving thus described the invention, what we claim is l. In a machinefor manufacturing fire-escape ladders,the combination of aspool-carrying frame, a tube connected to the frame and through whichthe wires pass from the spools, a pair of jaws pivotally connected tothe tube and provided with perforations through which the wires pass,devices to open said jaws to separate the wires for the insertion of arung, and means to rotate the spool-frame and the jaws, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a machine for manufacturing fire-escape ladders, the combinationof the spoolcarrying frames, tubes rigidly connected to the frames,recessed cones carried by said tubes, inner tubes slidably supported inthe first-named tubes to rotate therewith, disks carried by the saidinner tubes, a pair of jaws pivoted in each of said disks, each jawhaving perforations through which the wires pass, curved arms on saidjaws working :in the recesses in the cones, means to reciprocate theinner tubes to open or close the jaws, and means to rotate thespool-frames, the tubes, and the jaws, substantially as described.

3. In a machine for manufacturing fire-escape ladders, the combinationof the spoolcarrying frames, wire-twisting devices carried by theframes, gearing to rotate the frames and twisting devicessimultaneously, a driving-wheel, a clutch connection between saidgearing and the driving-wheel,`a drum on which the completed ladder iswound, and mechanism operated by the successive rungs of the completedladder to disengage the members of said clutch, substantially asdescribed.

4. In a machine for manufacturing fire-escape ladders, the combinationof spool-carrying frames, wire-twisting devices carried by the frames,gearing to rotate the frames and twisting devices simultaneously, adrivingwheel, a clutch connection between said gearing and thedriving-wheel, a drum on which the completed ladder is wound, a rollerjournaled in the frame over which the completed ladder moves to thewinding-drum, a springactuated pivoted lever connected at one end to themovable member of the clutch, a locking-lever pivoted on the frame andengaging at one end the spring-actuated lever to hold the clutch memberslocked, an arm pivotally connected to the other end of said lockingleverand projecting over the said roller to be engaged by the successiverungs of the completed ladder to trip the locking-lever and release theclutch mechanism, substantially as described.

5. In a weaving-machine of the class described, the combination with thetwisting mechanism; of the drum for the woven structure, ratchetmechanism arranged on the drum-shaft and having a swinging pawl-carryingarm, a normally-elevated movable support carrying a head slidablyengaging said pawl-carrying arm, and a normally-elevated movable contact-bar arranged beneath the drum and engaging with said movable support,substantially as set forth.

6. In a machine for manufacturing fire-escape ladders, the combinationof the wiretwisting devices, the drum on which the completed ladder iswound, a ratchet-wheel on the shaft of the drum, an arm pivoted at oneend on the drum-shaft, a spring-pawl carried by the arm to engage theteeth of the ratchetwheel, a sliding head on the arm, means connected tothe sliding head to oscillate said arm to turn the wheel and drum, asliding bar arranged below the drum transversely thereof and adapted tobe engaged and moved by the completed ladder as it is wound on the drum,a weight to normally hold the bar in contact with the woven structure onthe drum and connections between said bar and the sliding head,substantially as described.

7. The combination of the wire-twisting devices, the flanged drum onwhich the completed ladder is wound, a ratchet-wheel rigid on the shaftof the drum, an arm pivoted at one end on the drum-shaft, a spring-pawlcarried by the arm to engage the teeth of the wheel, a sliding head onthe arm, means connected to the sliding head to oscillate said arm toturn the ratchet-wheel and drum, a bracket supported on the frame tohave vertical movement, a bar carried by the bracket and extendingacross below the drum, a weight to hold the bar normally in engagementwith the completed ladder on the drum, a U-shaped bar straddling theflange of the drum and connected at one end to the sliding head, apulley journaled on the other end of said U-shaped bar to engage the barcarried by the bracket, whereby the position of the head is changed asthe ladder is Wound on the drum and the speed of the drum therebydecreased, substantially as described.

8. In a machine for manufacturing tire-escape ladders, the combinationof the wirecarrying spools, collars secured at one end to said spools, apair of bars engaging the collars on adjacent pairs of spools, a boltconnecting said bars midway their length, and thumb-nuts on said bolt toregulate the pressure of the bars on the collars, substantially asdescribed.

9. In a weaving-machine of the class described, the combination of aspool-holder, and the twisting device having means for separating thestrands of wire, and causing the latter to approach and recede from theaxis of rotation, substantially as set forth.

10. In aweaving mechanism of the class described, a rotatable twistingdevice having wire-holders each provided with a plurality ofperforations for threading the wire strands therein, and means forcausing the two sets of wire strands to approach and recede from theaXis of rotation.

1l. In a Weaving-machine of the class dcscribed, a rotatable twistingdevice having wire-holders each provided With a plurality ofperforations for threading the Wire strands therein, and means forsimultaneously adjusting said holders to cause the sets of strandscarried thereby to approach and recede from the axis of rotation.

l2. In a Weaving-machine of the class described, a rotatable twistingdevice having a pair of movable wire-holders, and means for causing saidholders to move in a direction toward and away from each other.

13. In a weaving-machine of the class de scribed, a rotatable twistingdevice having a pair of pivotal Wire holders or jaws provided each witha plurality of Wire openings or perforations, and means for oscillatin gsaid holders or jaws on their pivots.

14:. In a Weaving-machine of the class described, the combination withthe twisting mechanism for the parallel cables, of a rotatable drum forthe woven structure, and means for automatically stopping the rotationof said drum and the operation of the twisting mechanism when a certainpredetermined length of the Woven structure is complete.

In testimony that We claim the foregoing as our own we have heretoafiixed onr signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

MICHAEL SHIRES.

JOHN Q. A. KENNEDY.

lWitnesses: HORACE R. Rosn, W. S. HocKING.

